Well I thought we were ready for some damsels ( FIRST EVER LIVE STOCK FOR THE TANK), snail and hermits. we all whent to the LFS and bought 2 damels 12 hermits and 4 snails. As soon as I dropped the snails in the water they started squirming like crazy then when ito there shells an never came out, next about 12hrs later I cant seem to find the fish, they must be dead under some of the rock, How do I get them out of thetank? the hermits are dying, the rest I cant find,amonia tested at .5 today, since there is no live stock left I will do a water change in the am because my ro unit is slow since water pressure is at 44psi. :irked:
What started out great turned tragic
- Thread starter Salty Dog
- Start date
Pedro Nuno Ferreira
Liquid Breathing
- Location
- Portugal - Vila Nova de Gaia
Hi Salty Dog
I think you forgot some of the recommendations we made...remember for instance what LeslieS said about the fact that She spent some 4 hours gluing Her live Rocks and by the end the were not alive anymore, which extended the nitrogen cycle of Her tank...well you just started so you have to wait some 8 weeks or more before you can put live sotck safely in your tank. Please read the links bellow
Pedro Nuno Ferreira said:
Cheers
Pedro Nuno;-)
- Location
- Dingmans ferry PA
http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/general-discussion/48925-ok-im-up-running-since-last-night.html
dude youve only had your tank running for 4 days.u rushed and thats what happens.you need to let the water cycle.
dude youve only had your tank running for 4 days.u rushed and thats what happens.you need to let the water cycle.
- Location
- Deer Park, NY
Amonia is HIGHLY toxic to all the livestock you are putting in. Patience is a total virtue in this hobby. It is gonna take longer to cycle your tank then this. Once the amonia is down to 0 (and it MUST be 0) then you will see your nitrites spike (again, somewhat toxic to marine life). Once that starts to drop you will see your nitrates go up. Fish are able to handle higher amounts of dissolved nitrates that most invertibrates are. I would still recommend holding off until your nitrates drop significantly. This is gonna take some time, probably a more than a few weeks. The worst thing you can do is add livestock at this point because A) its definately not good for the poor animals and B) you are just going to prolong the cycle of your tank a bit because the decaying livestock will cause more amonia to appear. You have to let the beneficial bateria in the rock and filtration build up so that they can handle the amonia and nitrites that come from normal detritus decay, excess food decay, etc. Youre tank is not at that stage yet. Please, be more patient. I know its hard, trust us, we all know. But in the end you will be thankful and have a much more stable envornment to put your new pets in 
- Location
- Westchester, NY
The cycle was nowhere near complete I would remove the dead snails and then wait for the cycle to finish.
What to do
I have 2 ded damsels and some crabs, under rocks cant even see them in the tank, do I leave them and let them disolve, or do I tear the rocks apart to flush them out?
I will deffinitly wait this time for my tank to be right before adding anything
Thanks all Bill
I have 2 ded damsels and some crabs, under rocks cant even see them in the tank, do I leave them and let them disolve, or do I tear the rocks apart to flush them out?
I will deffinitly wait this time for my tank to be right before adding anything
Thanks all Bill
Tank is a 225g , with custom Life Reef sump and 36" protein skimmer, 57W Uv light, Phosphate reactor. Tank was just filled for the first time a week ago so nothing lived, I took the snails out and the crabs I Could butthe 2 damsels andthe rest of the crabs are under the live rock. Live rock in the tank around 220lbs.
- Location
- Westchester, NY
You can't get them out?
Pedro Nuno Ferreira
Liquid Breathing
- Location
- Portugal - Vila Nova de Gaia
:frown:Well LeslieS...it turns out that...well Bill wasn't patient enough, please read here What started out great turned...
Bill, as said, leave those you could not remove as they will now be part of the organic source to promote your nitrogen cycle, which should take some 8 weeks to take place and completion.
In the mean time, please read as much as possible and plan what you want for your reef so that you don't end up "shopping" when time comes.
Hera are some subjects you should read about
Understanding Calcium and Alkalinity
Starfish: Considerations of the Common (and Commonly Misunderstood) Varieties
Thoughts on Reef Aquarium Lighting... Keep Your Eye on the Prize!
Mangroves for the Marine Aquarium
Best Plants and Algae for Refugia - Part I
Best Plants and Algae for Refugia - Part II: "Vegetable Filters"
MR Pest ID Guide
What do you do when the lights go out?
Cheers
Pedro Nuno;-)
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Bill, my rock died just as yours did. It took a week for me to even have an amonia spike. It took a full 8 weeks for the tank to cycle and two more weeks and four 75% water changes to get rid of the nitrates. You should do the water changes once your amonia spikes and returns to zero, your nitrites spike and return to zero, and your nitrates are off the chart high. Do not put ANYTHNING in your tank until you have done enough water changes to get the nitrates back to zero. Also, I would find those damsels and take them out. Your tank will stink enough while cycling without having dead fish in there.
Spend this time making a list of the fish you want to keep and the order that they need to be added to the tank - least aggressive first. Damsels are probably not the least aggressive fish you are going to want.
Unless you have fish that need to be added as a pair or a school, you should add one fish per week. This will let your tank adjust to the new biological load as each fish is added. This will also allow your pods to grow. Eventually, you may want to keep fish that eat pods so a large population of them is key.
Also, think about what corals you would like to keep and where they need to be placed in the tank.
What books are you reading?
Spend this time making a list of the fish you want to keep and the order that they need to be added to the tank - least aggressive first. Damsels are probably not the least aggressive fish you are going to want.
Unless you have fish that need to be added as a pair or a school, you should add one fish per week. This will let your tank adjust to the new biological load as each fish is added. This will also allow your pods to grow. Eventually, you may want to keep fish that eat pods so a large population of them is key.
Also, think about what corals you would like to keep and where they need to be placed in the tank.
What books are you reading?
Man, I just got ainxuos, and forgot to think. I have salt water for dumies 2nd addition (like me), Reef Secrets, Marine Aquariu and the Encyclopedia of Salt Water Aquariums.
Bill :irked:
Hey Bill..since you now have some free time, you'll want to be reading through those books (nice collections so far!)
As far as the damsels in the tank..I understand you have a lot of rock in there, but with them rotting away, it is going to stink (as Leslie pointed out). Perhaps you can take an extra power head and try and 'blow' them out from under the rock?
Did someone at a LFS suggest you put the damsels & CUC in the tank, perhaps as a way to help it cycle? An extremely poor idea as you now know.
Do you have a pic of the tank?
As far as the damsels in the tank..I understand you have a lot of rock in there, but with them rotting away, it is going to stink (as Leslie pointed out). Perhaps you can take an extra power head and try and 'blow' them out from under the rock?
Did someone at a LFS suggest you put the damsels & CUC in the tank, perhaps as a way to help it cycle? An extremely poor idea as you now know.
Do you have a pic of the tank?
Can I recommend that you put only hardy fish in your tank after you patiently wait for the tank to cycle. Remember that most angels and butterflies and tangs, etc. are taken from reefs and are very sensitive. Maybe you could start with some tank reared fish like clowns or dottybacks until you get the hang of it. This way your tank will have a chance to mature(as important as cycling only longer) and stabilize. Otherwise you'll be killing a lot of fish. Good Luck.
Kathy,
We whent to the LFS to hang out and just enjoy there displays, they know me in there and asked if the tank had water. I told them I just Put water in less than a week ago and they suggested that I put in 2 Damsels since they are very hardy. They also told me to put in some hermits and that they could survive any type of water . I will now go in and move they rock around to find the dead fish, I did see a few crabs still clinging to life on some rock, maybe two that I can see.
I will post some pictures, let me go find my camara
We whent to the LFS to hang out and just enjoy there displays, they know me in there and asked if the tank had water. I told them I just Put water in less than a week ago and they suggested that I put in 2 Damsels since they are very hardy. They also told me to put in some hermits and that they could survive any type of water . I will now go in and move they rock around to find the dead fish, I did see a few crabs still clinging to life on some rock, maybe two that I can see.
I will post some pictures, let me go find my camara
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